St. Francis of Assisi Pastor’s Column – September 4, 2016

Last Saturday morning I took a drive out to Neuse View Drive, to a “wall-blessing celebration” for a new house that is being built by Habitat for Humanity. The new walls were about to go up that morning. Our parish is part of the Catholic Coalition, a group of parishes which sponsor Habitat and there were members of four or five local Catholic churches on site that morning. The family for whom the house is being built was there and spoke a few words of gratitude. If you’re interested in getting involved in Habitat for Humanity through St. Francis, contact Trevor Thompson or Becky Cawley in our parish offices. You can find info about upcoming Habitat building dates on page 9.

One early morning the week before last I was sitting in the church, which by the way is a beautiful place for quiet prayer during the day, and I noticed the chirping of a bird high in the rafters. Who knows how it got there? How would it get out? It was flying around, resting for a time on the piano, then up to a beam, then back up high in the rafters. Thank you to our highly competent maintenance staff for finding a way to lure the bird out one of the doors. St. Francis must have been watching all along.

School is back in session and the Friday before last I was invited to visit one of the first grade classes as the “star of the week.” My only responsibility was to answer questions from the new first-graders: “Do you like McDonald’s?” Yes, I answered, the occasional quarter pounder with cheese, fries, and a Coke. “What’s your favorite food?” Tough call on that, but hard to go wrong with a slice of chocolate cake, even better with a scoop of chocolate ice cream on the side.

Next weekend, at the 5:30 mass on Saturday, we will welcome representatives from the newly established Our Lady of La Vang Catholic Church. The church is next door to us, in the building formerly occupied by Bethany Hills Baptist Church. This is a Vietnamese Catholic community which has been searching for a home for years and we are happy to welcome them as neighbors. Also next weekend, after the 11:30 Sunday mass, our Job Connections ministry will host an information session in Anthony Hall Founder’s Room. This ministry encourages and supports men and women while they are in the job search process, whether or not they are in between jobs, actively seeking a new position while employed, or want to learn how to take charge of their career. Anyone is invited to attend.

This weekend is a long holiday weekend, the unofficial beginning of fall, finally, after a relentlessly hot and humid summer.